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Soccer Sunday: Your Running Commentary

ChivasClubAmerica (Getty)

By JUSTIN FERGUSON

A busy soccer weekend will come to the end on Easter Sunday. Although this Sunday slate is smaller than usual, there are a few must-see matches from around the world.

Sunday will kick off with the day’s only Premier League match, Aston Villa vs. Liverpool. The host Villans welcome back Darren Bent, Nathan Baker, Karim El Ahmadi and Fabian Delph to the squad in hopes of getting out of the drop zone. Villa won back-to-back matches before the international break while Liverpool’s hot streak was cooled off by relegation-threatened Southampton. The Europe-hopeful Reds, who welcome back Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher, will be seeking revenge for their 3-1 loss at Villa Park earlier this season.

The biggest match on Easter Sunday can be found in Spain as Atletico Madrid hosts Valencia. Atletico saw its undefeated home record come to an end during its last match at the Vicente Calderon, and sixth-place Valencia will look to repeat Real Sociedad’s road performance. The visitors, who will be without leading scorer Roberto Saldado, enter Sunday’s match just two points behind fourth-place Malaga in the race for the final Champions League spot from La Liga.

The weekend’s action will close in Mexico with 206th edition of the fierce El Super Clasico, the battle between Chivas Guadalajara and Club America. Fourth-place Club America recorded its first win over Chivas in three years during the two sides’ last meeting. Both clubs will be looking to snap winless streaks on Sunday night—who better to bust a slump against than your fiercest rival?

If you will be watching today’s action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Today’s TV schedule is after the jump):

8:30am – Fox Soccer Channel – Aston Villa vs. Liverpool

9:30am – GolTV – Wolfsburg vs. Nürnberg

11am – beIN Sport – Brest vs. Lille

11am – beIN Sport en Español – Mallorca vs. Deportivo La Coruña

1pm – beIN Sport – Espanyol vs. Real Sociedad

2pm – Azteca America/ESPN Deportes – Puebla vs. UANL Tigres

2pm – Univision – Toluca vs. Tijuana

3pm – beIn Sport – Lyon vs. Sochaux

3pm – beIN Sport en Español – Atlético Madrid vs. Valencia

7pm – Telemundo – Chivas Guadalajara vs. América

Comments

    • Wow. With those injuries seemingly slowing him, I really thought dude’s career was done, at least anywhere near where it was in his prime. Shouldn’t have doubted him.

      Reply
      • Yes you should have doubted him.

        He had a series of bad knee injuries which kept him out for a while and probably took some of his speed.

        Lesser men might have retired by now.

        It seems DMB is not a lesser man.

  1. Beasley on the bench. Probably being punished for starting and playing decent against Mexico midweek. If US had lost Beasley probably starts today.

    Reply
    • I could be wrong but EspnFC had him listed in the midfield,. People were also discussing his move to the left wing and how he looked on another site. I did watch Nuremberg earlier and saw Chandler playing on the right wing but I don’t believe that’s new.

      Reply
  2. And Timmy Chandler is also conveniently back this week! That makes him, D Will, Fabian… I’m not one for conspiracies, but how coincidental, no?

    Reply
    • Enough with questioning the loyalty of these players.

      My god when will this nonsense stop. Fabian Johnson was missing matches even before the call ups. And with call ups a player has to be fit, in form and ready to go a week prior to the games just to get a call up.

      If they aren’t fit or have a slight knock and the call ups will take them out of 2 matches for the team then there is no point in calling them up. This is how international football works.

      If you’re using them starting 2 weeks later as some crazy, unfounded conspiracy–get your head examined. The three of them have 33 caps–you think they’re just going to all of a sudden stop?

      Reply
      • +1 Ives, can you start a new SBI blog at sbi.zegermans.com as a home for conspiracy theorists to share their many, uh, “theories”?

  3. Phew! Benteke clearly offsides on that stoppage time equalizer, and Red Dragons still within range of a top 5 EPL finish.

    Reply
    • He was brought in to be a box to box central distributor and attacker. He seems to have blossomed into a harrier who makes late runs. I still think we overpaid but he’s young he will only get better.

      Reply
  4. The game commentator for the AV/Liverpool match is doing an excellent job. I wish that most commentary was like this. He doesn’t babble on the match.

    Reply
  5. O/T but what is it about American strikers scoring in Europe

    Is it really say the managers. rotational managers who just don’t see Americans as that effective particularly in a relegation fight

    Is it just the techniques and ball control of our boys?

    why haven’t we had a truly successful US striker in Europe? Sure we had Wynalda/McBride and Moore/Mathis for a while but guys like EJ/Cooper/Twellman/Casey flopped at the highest level and barely successful in 2nd divisions. why don’t we have quality like in our goalkeepers or midfielders?

    Reply
    • We just had a European record set last year by Deuce who was one of the top scorers in the BPL. A record broken this year by Jozy.

      Reply
    • 1254,

      Jozy, Clint, Charlie Davies, Landon, Brian McBride,Eddie Johnson, Edson Buddle, Mike Grella, Marcus Tracy, Kenny Cooper, Conor Casey, Chris Rolfe, Aron Johansen, Twellman, Boyd, Wood.
      Those are the USMNT eligible strikers that I can remember offhand in the last 8-10 years.
      Most USMNT fans would not pick an American striker, other than an in form Clint, Jozy, Landon, Davies or McBride if they were managing a relegation threatened team. The fact is there just are not that many American players in Europe.period. And they are not as a group, that exceptional yet.

      There 22 seeded teams in the champions league, supposedly the best of the best. Jermaine Jones is the only USMNT eligible regular on one of those teams.
      I’m a little tired of these anti American conspiracy theories by US fans. It makes American fans look naïve,stupid and ignorant. If they really understood how terrifying relegation is they’d realize that managers would play a Martian if they thought he could help.

      Scoring goals is very, very hard and regular scorers are rare. Clint Dempsey , an otherwise unremarkable player, cost Spurs 7 miilion because he has a knack for scoring goals. If not for that knack, he’d still be at the Revolution.

      Reply
      • Clint’s trademark as a player is his knack to pull amazing out of his ***. He isn’t very good on the ball. He isn’t very fast. He doesn’t pass well.

        But he will score a wonder goal out of nothing to save you. Oh, and Deuce Face.

        It’s hard, but it’s reality.

      • If Clint did not score as much and as regularly as he does do you really think Spurs would have paid 7 million for him?

        Would he even be a regular for the USMNT? Be honest.

        He’s what you call a consistently great finisher a very rare skill.That is hardly something to be ashamed of.

  6. The whole MNT in Europe videos are fantastic. I was bored so was watching all of them yesterday. do they plan on doing some more?

    I’d love for them to make 3 segments so that they add up to say 20mins or so.

    Maybe feature Maurice Edu in Turkey if he decides a full transfer there, a video of Dempsey at Spurs, Bradley at ROMA, Jozy at his new club

    doesn’t have to be none but before the end of the year

    Reply
  7. AZ scored two in two minutes (22′ and 24′), second an OG from a Defender “pressured” by Altidore, then lost a defender to a red card. The three points would be great to avoid relegation, but it’s probably an Azteca-style game for Jozy from here on out.

    Reply

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